it's less a fiscal cliff than it is a slide or an incline plane or whatever. but i think that, you know, soon after the 1st, if we haven't done it by then when all the tax rates go and all the changes happen, we get serious and something happens, and i think speaker boehner will be part of it. that's why i'm generally optimistic within the next month if not within the next few weeks. >> i hope so. senator sherrod brown, thank you so much. nice to have you here, your wife as well. >>> coming up next, david shweikert is among a handful of conservatives demanding an explanation after being removed from their committee assignments. he'll join us next right here on "morning joe." meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. to the best vacation sp(all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our gr